The Alchemist's Apprentice
by juliasejanus
Summary: AU A lot can happen in three days, as Harry lay unconscious after his confrontation with Quirrell and their fight over the Philosopher's stone. Without a chance to defend himself, Harry had been expelled for putting the lives of his fellow students in danger, disregarding school rules, being out of bounds and for using dangerous and potentially lethal magic.
1. Chapter 1

Harry woke and even without opening his eyes, just the feel of the lumpy matress making his back ache, the thin and grimy sheets and the fact he was not quite warm enough that he deduced he was back in Surrey, in Dudley's second bedroom. He sighed, it was as if his time at Hogwarts had been a dream. Only it had turned into a nightmare. He sighed and blinked, seeing the bright sun through his window, meaning it was late in the day. He reached to the bedside table to grab his glasses and only when the dirty and broken glasses were perched on his nose, did he notice the two strangers in the room. An elderly witch and a wizard sat on conjured grand chairs, drinking tea. Both silent. He sat bolt upright and tried to find his wand, not knowing if the two mysterious old people sat by his bed were friend or foe.

"Good evening Mr. Potter, My name is Nicholas Flamel and this is my good wife and better half, Perenelle. I have come to thank you personally for your valiant attempt to save my property from the shade Tom Riddle."

Harry relaxed slightly and moved to rest his back against the cold bare wall behind his bed and looked at this old man with white hair and kind brown eyes. The young wizard was puzzled "Umm, wasn't it Voldemort possessing Professor Quirrell?"

The old alchemist chuckled deeply as if to a personal joke. "Lord Voldemort is an alias, a pseudonym and an anagram of Tom Marvolo Riddle, the 'so called' Dark Lord's real name. Well, now onto the serious business of our visit. You seem to have become a victim of the over zealous Board of Governors of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Your headmaster had written you a letter, in it I assume he explains that you have no wand and must endure life here with your despicable muggle relatives until your peers come to their senses." The old man smiled and continued "I owe you my eternal gratitude and I fear I must apologise for the truth of the matter, as I would never trust anyone except my wife or my most trusted associates, the goblins, with my greatest and most dangerous invention. The Goblins still guard my Stone, as per my agreement with them. They cannot use it and in return I cannot undermine their wealth by creating unlimited amounts of gold." The old man shifted on his seat as if trying to find a comfortable position. "So, to repay me debt of honour, I have talked to your aunt, the unpleasant and sour Mrs Petunia Dursley, nee Evans and she was happy to sign over your guardianship to my wife and myself. You are welcome to continue on your journey to be a great wizard with us, abroad I'm afraid. Better than staying here, is it not?" The man looked disdainfully around the room with spare furniture and filled with piles of discarded muggle rubbish.

Harry was still a bit fuzzy from his long sleep and it took a moment to process that he was no longer a student at Hogwarts. He picked up the letter which had been left on the floor beside his bed. The missive actually said very little, just the bare fact and that Harry was not allowed to learn magic in Britain. That meant he had to exile himself to become a wizard to make his parent's proud. He sat and concluded that in fact his fortune was looking up, he had new guardians, magical guardians. "Yeah, that would be great. OK I'll get dressed and we can leave."

"No need." Perenelle said softly, standing and a large red and gold bird flashed in burst of flame on her shoulder. " We will alight to our home, in the Legendary Forests of Teuton. Come hold my hand" The old woman commanded, as if she could not wait to be away from this place.

Harry then looked about the room to note his trunk, owl and cage were nowhere to be seen. "What about my stuff? Where's Hedwig?"

Nicholas stood and put his hand on the eleven year olds shoulder, a small reassurance for some very bad news. "The Ministry confiscated your trunk and school things. They tried to capture your owl, but she escaped, and I think she will follow you to your new home. Such a delightfully intelligent bird. Reminds me of my wife's familiar, Prometheus. Come, we have much to discuss and I'd prefer to do it after a home cooked supper and a glass of sherry. Lets go home shall we?"

"Yeah... I don't have anything to keep me here." Harry said quietly. Just a letter from the headmaster who had sent him to live here in the first place, unwanted and unloved, it was not a home just a prison. He had just been offered a home and a chance to still be a wizard. Better than remedial classes at Stonewall in badly dyed hand me downs. "The Headmaster said that the stone was destroyed in his letter and that you two would die."

Perenelle stroked her familiar, her chair vanishing with a casual wave of her left hand. "Well, this won't be the first time we've had problems over that stone. Six hundred years we have managed to stay one step ahead of friends and foes alike. Immortality is a lonely business. You will keep us on our toes. Just think of how much you have to learn, not just spells and hexes, but languages, art, history, culture of all magical beings. You will find that Britain is quite conservative. I have lived five times longer than your headmaster but I continue to master new skills. My zeal for life is through my love of learning. Now, I need a hot bath and I guess so do you." Perenelle held out her hand, as soon as Harry gripped her hand firmly the three disappeared in a flash.

The wizarding world would not enquire of Harry Potter's health and well being for another year after the escape of the infamous Sirius Black from Azkaban. Cornelius Fudge arrive at 4 Privet Drive to personally escort the Boy-who-lived to Diagon Alley. Confident that a year in exile would make the boy a grateful and meek law abiding wizard, always in the Minister;s debt for allowing him to continue his education. Only to be confronted by a very irate Vernon Durseley, the boy's uncle, who had no knowledge of their nephew's whereabouts, and that it was good riddance to bad rubbish and the fact they had never wanted the freak in the first place. . The Minister ordered Auror's to investigate. The sorry truth became public knowledge, that the Boy who Lived to be expelled had grown up abused, belittled, starved and beaten by his muggle relatives and for ten years had slept in a boot cupboard. No one blamed Harry for running away. What choice did he have really? Despite his great deed in ridding the Magical World of a Dark Lord, no one had looked out for the orphan boy. All had believed the lies that he had grown up spoiled and pampered. Only then did people question his expulsion. Lucius Malfoy went from popular disciplinarian to hounded ex-school governor overnight. The fact the boy's expulsion had been a fight for his own life from the Defense against the Dark Art teacher who had tried to kill the boy earlier in the school year. The rumours about the Philosopher's stone came to light. Albus Dumbledore used most of his considerable influence to difect blame from himself as he had pleaded the boy's case, that Harry was a good pure soul, that he had only had the best intensions to save the stone from Quininus Quirrell and his quest for immortality and limitless wealth. Then most began to believe the boy dead, targeted by dark wizards.


	2. Chapter 2

Neville Longbottom was considered weak, a squib and a fool but he had a backbone and simmering courage as he knew what was right and just. He'd tried to stop Harry and Harry had gotten expelled. He'd been commended for his actions. He was not satisfied withthe rumours circulating and had talked quietly to Hermione to get the background on what really had happened. There was not a malicious bone in Harry's body, he had a good pure heart, he'd been trying to stop Voldemort rising again and been exiled for his trouble. It was not right. McGonagall had laid down the law, expelled students were exiled from the magical world. They were not to be contacted, helped or given aid in any form. This was a contradiction on Hagrid's treatment and he'd been expelled after a student had died. The Head of Gryffindor had continued her tirade about the shame on Gryffindor House for defying her, the school rules and most of all his own and his friends safety, the boy would be nameless within the walls of the school. Neville read between the lines. Out of school was another matter. Ron and Hermione were both in detention every night in the two weeks until the end of term and were being escorted everywhere by Percy Weasley. It was decidedly unfair on Harry.

Neville, as soon as he got home, raised the matter with his grandmother, who in no uncertain terms told him she was glad that the troublemaker would have no futher interaction with Neville. That Neville had a reputation to upkeep to be just like his father, a man Neviile knew the old woman kept on a pedestal. Neville tried to explain about Voldemort and the facts he had corroborated with the centaurs, but she had ordered him to his room. Neville at once sat and wrote to Algernon Croaker, his great uncle Algie, and summoned Mannie, the house elf to deliver the rather formal letter. As Heir of Longbottom, he had taken on family duties and responsibilities at the age of 11. He now had choices and he was no longer going to be downtrodden and meek.

Augusta Longbottom was a bit shocked when Algie flooed in and just shook his head at the old woman. He went and got Neville and his trunk before talking to Augusta. "Dowager Longbottom, in future it would be wise to listen to your grandson in his concerns. I have long served the Ministry as a clerk on Level 10 and I have heard the truth of what transpired at Hogwarts, a truth Neville confirmed. The Potter Heir defeated Voldemort once more and it was the Dark Lord's chief backer, Lucius Malfoy, a death eater of the inner circle, that maneuvered to get the boy expelled. Malfoy is currently abroad seeking out his foul master. If I could, I would have taken that boy under my wing but no one dares to go against Albus Dumbledore and his plans. Alice is still the boy's godmother and she was in the process of securing his custody when she and Frank were attacked. You failed House Potter then and you have failed them again now. Neville knows that the two houses, Longbottom and Potter, have been allies for five centuries. Shame on you. I now will take over as Neville's guardian as he has requested it. You, madam, have shamed the Longbottom and the Croaker names with your actions."

"Algernon, I am an old woman. I could not have cared for two boys. One was hard enough."

"Woman, I know what trying times they were. Neville was catatonic, he only came out of it two days later. We thought his magic was permanently damaged. He has recovered. I will bring him up to be a fine, strong young man, a worthy Regent for the House. The foundations are there already. Give him time, but I understand his need for independence. He has cut the apron strings. Let him. Good day."

Neville sat on his bed in his new room, in his temporary home. Great Uncle Algie had listened to him, agreed with him and had even suggested that Minnie McGonagall had gone too far making Potter nameless in the school. Neville had written to Harry and given him the details of how to start an appeal against his expulsion or to try and get educated abroad. His uncle stated Dumbledore had done nothing, just sent the boy back to his muggle guardians, with the unanswered question 'What was that man playing at?'. The changes to Neville's life was not stopping there. Tomorrow he was getting fitted with a new attuned wand, and they were going to visit school's abroad. Algernon Croaker had stated he did not like the games that were being played at Hogwarts or the Ministry at the moment. Safer for Neville in the long run not to become a pawn. Neville wrote to Hermione and suggested she try alternative schooling as well.

Hermione had read Neville's letter and then had sat her parents down and told them everything, all the gruesome details, of what had transpired during her first year. She had made notes and in hindsight it had showed the overall care and supervision at the school was severely lacking. They listened as she asked to be schooled in the United States or Canada, a place that offered full education, both normal, as Hermione had stopped using that awful phrase muggle, and magical. She stated that Hogwarts without Harry or Neville was not a school she wanted to attend. Ron had not returned any of her letters and had tried to blame his actions on her and harry as if the two of them had bullied him into complying. Ronald Weasley had just used her for homework assignment and when push came to shove had not stood up for Harry. Hermione had tried but had been silenced by Professor McGonagall and told if she tried to help her best friend, she too would be expelled. That woman had played on Hermione's own fears to get her way.

Daniel and Helen Granger were very rational people. The whole idea of having a witch in the family had explained so much of their daughter's troubles at primary school. Different always stuck out and she had been bullied mercilessly because of it. Daniel pondered their options, sending Hermione to school three thousand miles away was not even going to be considered and then stated, "What about Australia?"

Hermione had looked into schools in all english speaking counties, even India had a magical Academy which taught in English. "Well Australia has two magical schools, one is more traditional, on the lines of those in Europe, boarding full time, strict curriculum, and the Sydney day school, which has a structure more along the lines of the American schools. I'd prefer to day school. If I had a choice?" Hermione had only begun to like Hogwarts because of Harry and Neville. All others had shunned her for being too studious or muggleborn.

Daniel smiled and squeezed his wife's hand. "Well that settles it, we were planning to emigrate but we put our plans on hold until you left school. Our junior partner wants to buy our practice and I have an offer to teach reconstructive dentistry. The house will sell quickly if the sale of No. 40 was anything to go by. So by September, we'll be living on the other side of the world."

Well, Hermione reasoned, she would contact Harry as soon as she was safe and enrolled in her new school. No one would threaten her to keep quiet or be expelled again. She had her wand but she felt she had acted cowardly to keep it. Then again did they stop at snapping a wand when muggle borns were expelled? She might be obliviated as well. She was glad to be leaving and glad Neville had promised to keep Harry aware that she had been threatened into compliance at Hogwarts, as had all the Gryffindors. In a few years, as a fully trained witch with full wand rights, Hermione was going to have words with Minerva McGonagall, that was one promise she made herself. She was going to be the best witch she could possibly be and then rub that woman's face in it.


	3. Chapter 3

_In Great Britain, Scrying or any other form of blood magic was strictly regulated, forbidden by any witch or wizard except under the auspices of the Ministry of Magic or under the jurisdiction of the Goblins under the 1938 Misuse of Family Magics Act. A patchy and badly worded piece of legislation hurried through the Wizengamot to combat the growing power of Gindelwald and his followers as scrying had been used to track down any in opposition to the 'Great Protector'. The liberal use of blood magic wards had meant the fact individual family members turned on their own when they joined the Crusade in Magical Supremacy. By the end of the conflict in 1945, whole families had been wiped out. The devastation hardly felt in Britain, which became a haven for refugees, but the magical populations in Eastern Europe plummeted during the purges of those unworthy of wielding a wand. The vision of Gellert Grindelwald had been corrupted in his quest for total power and a vision of a perfect hierarchical society. Subjugation at all costs had fractured the Wizarding World into Blood Traitors and Pure Blood Supremicisits. It was into this world that the second Dark Lord of the Twentieth Century rose, using the ideals of Grindelwald to draw followers. The Dark Lord hated all with a passion, follower or foe alike._

Harry put down his book on the Dark Lords of Modern Times and rubbed his sore, cramping hand, he had pages of detailed notes already. This was one of the books he kept rereading. Much more relevant text compared to the Bathilda Bagshot's History of Magic or any history book published in Britain. For some reason, the whole war with Grindelwald was practically ignored, except for the hero worship of Albus Dumbledore of course. Harry started scribbling some notes 'The fact was that Balthilda Bagshot's nephew, the disciple of the Death, the Master duelist and the Follower of the Sacred Hallows, who had brought Magical Europe to its knees. The magical communities in Germany, Poland and Russia were devastated to the few small enclaves in existance today. The backlash after the war had seen all of Grindelwald's follower's hunted down and eradicated by the few survivors bent on revenge. The Magical enclave in the former Holy Roman Empire had faired only slightly better, by remaining neutral during that war, closing its borders to alien magicals but Gindelwald's supporters had still murdered many there. The Dark Lord still lived, his punishment was to watch as his legacy fade to nothing. His name a curse when spoken, his ideals forgotten. Europe still had a no tolerance policy on blood supremacy and was very much in favour of hiding in plain sight. Wizards in Europe had no problem passing for normal. Even the word muggle was frowned upon. First generation magical's tended to be day schooled and those born within ICW approved enclaves went to the traditional schools of Durmstang and Beauxbatons.'

He was about half way through his research for his Baccalaureate Project, the final part of schooling. He still thought it funny that he had grown to love learning in an unstructured environment, especially the study of the past, politics, and had chosen a history as his major for his schooling. He was adept at magic but was much more Perenelle's student than Nicholas'. Perenelle had become his mentor, both mother and chief slave driver. He only helped Nicholas during his researches into new magical theory and practice. Not that Harry did not study with Nicholas, it was just helping the elderly genius, he appreciated having two helpful assistants around the place. The wizard always kept up to date on published research, patents and ideas. Harry sometimes scrapped his formal learning for days while embroiled with the alchemist. Nicholas had taught Harry how to love and excel with potions. Harry was soon to be Nicholas' full time apprentice.

Harry was about two months away from finishing his formal schooling and starting his Mastery, he had chosen the field of Spell crafting and design, this included Runes, Arithmancy, Charms and the Magical Arts. In Europe, there was no predefined light or dark magic, just magic. Rituals, blood and runic were studied and practiced here. Harry would cover a broad spectrum of study in his higher learning. There was no timetable, he had all the time in the world. Within his maturity and magical majority still a few years away, he was still well ahead of his peers. Justly so, he had been lucky enough to study on a one to one basis with not one by two magical giants, both with hundreds of years of learning under their belts and both geniuses.

After another hour, the zealous student was getting a headache and decided a breath of fresh air was needed. It was still an hour until supper and the young wizard had decided on a hack on the forest trails nearest the citadel that was his home. He saddled Philip up, and took off at a fast walk. More than once he had wished his horse could talk like in the Narnia books. He had, at the age of eleven been able to read any books he had wanted to. After his change in guardians, for the first time in his life, he was encouraged to achieve and excel. He had never been allowed to visit the library at school or in the town in Little Whining. Never trusted with the priviledge and had learned early on never to take any school books or school work home to Privet Drive. He never understood his cousin's need to make him as miserable as possible. Even at Hogwarts, Harry played to the crowd, never standing out, his schoolwork always slightly below average. The horse and rider reached the nearby rise, the one place with a view of the fortified manor built of black basalt. It had been purchased some five hundred years ago by Nicholas and was one of seven hidden estates. The couple hid themselves for several decades at a time, only surfacing when something or someone got their interest.

The sun was setting, the air heavy with moisture of threatening summer rain. Harry kicked Philip into a trot, so he could back in time to groom and feed his horse before the light evening meal.

Each diner discussed their day, their goals and their schedules at the meal. It had been the same for four, happy, if isolated, years. Harry had found leaving Britain behind had been easily the best decision he had made in his life, even the loss of his former home no longer caused regret, Hogwarts was but a memory. Harry had heard snippets of gossip from Neville but he was frankly not interested on the failings of his old school or the problems over its sub-standard teaching or the political intrigues of his former home.

...

Hermione put the finishing touches to her weekly letters to her two oldest friends, Harry whose mail was sent by secure drop box and the International Direct Post to Durmstang, where Neville was studying. The Longbottom Heir had chosen not even to return to Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament last year, preferring to remain at school in the forests of the Harz Mountains. The young witch had made several friends, both mundane and magical in Sydney. She was hoping to go to medical school to study medicine and healing. The magical population in Australia was growing with the steady influx of immigrants like her. Most first generation magic users eager to escape the social strictures of Europe. There was no pureblood nonsense here. Success was based on talent, hard work and power. She smiled, if she was sorted at Hogwarts now she'd be placed in Slytherin. Her ambition and drive to succeed were her main passions. Here, her parents were able to visit school, her father was even on the PTA. So, so different from the condescending and inward attitude in Britain. She had heard that attitudes at Durmstang were shaped by the war with Grindewald. The practical extermination of first generation magicals for thirty years was something eastern Europe was still recovering from. Hermione was in the middle of a project on the changing role of the International Confederation of Wizards in the Modern World. Britain was completely insular in its traditions and views, no wonder Voldemort had gained popularity and deep rooted support. She watched the news noting, history was repeating itself. Voldemort had returned and been seen at the Ministry of Magic.

She had stopped reading the Prophet, as it had spent the past two years harking on about the miscarriage of justice and the loss of the Boy-who-Lived, not to the muggle world but to magical guardians unknown. Even the pardoned Sirius Black had no knowledge of where his godson now lived and studied. Many thought the Triwizard tournament had been a ploy to out Harry Potter, as they assumed he was a student at either of the two schools on the continent. She was soon to be seventeen. She was travelling to Lithuania during the winter break to visit Harry for his sixteenth birthday. She was only slightly jealous that he was weeks away from finishing school. She still had a year at school in Sydney. Then again she already had a full scholarship for medical school. Sometimes she wondered what path her life would have taken if she had stayed at Hogwarts, but she was a realist, there was no point dwelling on the if, buts and maybe's. She was ten thousand miles from that hot spot of pureblood supremacy. She was so glad Neville was staying with his school friend, Ivan Klenkov in the Ukraine this summer. Even Lady Augusta Longbottom thought Britain was too dangerous for her godson. Two camps had sprung up citing either Neville or Harry as 'the Chosen One'. How stupid were people to put the whole political, social and economic future of their country on the back of a couple of sixteen year olds.

...

It was the day before Neville's sixteenth birthday. He looked at the portkey and then at the clock. He had already had a great summer with Ivan, Klaus and Marika. No one at Durmstrang called him a squib or sneered at the fact he grew up with a stern grandmother. He was a good student, even at Potions. It helped the teacher was a gorgeous graduate of Beauxbatons who actually tutored Neville for all the basics Snape never bothered to teach. He was by no means a swat but the school expected all its alumni to be excellent duelists, warders and able to defend hearth and home. His grandmother had even approved of a foreign born wife. He would start his courtship of Marika next year. He already had the approval of her parents, both of whom taught at school. The connections of the Longbottom family would grow beyond Britain and into the New World. He would make his grandmother proud as he became an internationally renown herbologist, he would study for his mastery, far far away from the up and coming war in Britain. The battle lines had already been drawn. The international community were isolating this conflict in Britain. Voldemort may succeed but it would be a hollow victory. He would be destroyed by the International Confederation of Wizards. Neville suspected it was a forgone conclusion as no-one wanted the non-magical government in Britain to get involved.


End file.
